Viking's Syren
by AHaddock3
Summary: Everyone knows what syrens are, right? WRONG. Vikings have never even heard of them. Which is bad, because one has stolen Hiccup and devised a treacherous game to test the other riders, to see if they have what it takes to get him back. The catch? The syren in question loves him. And will do anything, no matter how horrible, in order to keep him. Rated T just to be safe. RTTE time.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hi, so I was just thinking about syrens and what it takes to recognize them for what they are, and I got the idea for this. Enjoy!**

Viking's Syren

"Are you sure?"

The witch's breath was cold on my neck.

"If you do this there is no going back."

I shivered. "Yes, Ekawa. I'm sure."

"Then, princess, there must be... _payment._ "

I shuddered. Ekawa was known for extracting terrible prices for her services. I knew what I wanted. What would I give for it?

"What do you want?"

"Your voice."

I relaxed. That was not so bad a price. In return for my voice, she would bring Hiccup Stoick'sSon here, and hide him from my sisters. She would also help me exact my **Guise** , which would close Hiccup's eyes to what I really was. He would see someone else.

"I accept your terms, Ekawa."

"Then let us begin."

She began to sing, no, to chant, in a weird witchy voice that soon went beyond even whale song, which was a real feat, considering where we were. She reached out, and I froze, but all she did was cut off a lock of my hair, and I shuddered when I saw her eyes. They were covered with a white film. She couldn't see me.

She called louder and louder, and when her voice began to hurt my ears the lock of my fiery red hair in her hands Transformed. It became a sea-scroll, which vanished at once.

"There, princess." Ekawa said tiredly. "My part of the deal is done. Now your price."

I took a deep breath and steeled myself.

"Well?!" Ekawa snapped.

I took a deep breath in, and when it came out again, it was my **Song.** I halfway hoped to bewitch the witch with it, but it didn't work. She took a bottle and captured the **Song** in it.

She shook with laughter as my voice died away. "Finally!" She exulted. A Syren's **Song** is mine!"

I tried to sing, but only my voice emerged. Not my **Song.** It was gone. I would never Hunt again. I would never Sing the birds to me. My sisters would never Listen to me again. My Prey was forever lost, too. The last piece of Prey that would ever come near me was Hiccup, but the thought of eating him was horrible.

 _What have I done?_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Hi! First, review replies:**

 **GreenBlueCat: Not a chance. Hiccstrid is the best. :)**

 **Guest: Yes, Siren is how it's usually spelled, but I wanted to make it more arcane and dramatic.**

 **Guest: Yes, here it is!**

Chapter two

Astrid Hofferson awoke to find an angry Night Fury staring her in the face.

She yelped and sat up, only to smack her head on the wooden ledge above her bed. _Ouch._

Ruefully rubbing at her head she stared back at the Night Fury. "What is it, Toothless?" A thought occured to her "Where's Hiccup?" Toothless had backed up and still had his gaze fixed on her. He shook his head, as if to say, _come with me NOW._

Astrid slid out of bed and followed Toothless over to Hiccup's hut. Astrid was getting a little worried. Why on earth would Toothless come to fetch her at this ungodly hour of the morning? He and Hiccup were inseperable.

She pushed open the door, calling out as she did. "Hiccup? You okay?" Toothless followed her in and stared at the... _empty_...bed before turning to her and giving her a look that clearly said, _well?_

The bed was rumpled, and what Toothless knew, but Astrid didn't, was that it was still warm. She looked at the Night Fury, even more confused. _What?_ Then she noticed the scroll. It lay on the pillow. Her throat constricted. Had Hiccup _ran away?!_

 _No chance,_ she told herself. She went and picked up the scroll and unrolled it. She read it once. Read it again. And a third time.

"Oh gods."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Riders were up. They and their dragons were all at the Clubhouse, looking sleepy. Astrid, however, was wide awake and pacing.

"Why'd you wake us up so _early,_ Astrid?" Snotlout complained. "I need my beauty sleep!"

"because Hiccup is missing." Astrid snapped.

That got everyone's attention. Snot lout stared, the twins woke up from where they were leaning on each other, and Fishlegs whimpered.

"Toothless came and fetched me this morning." Astrid said. "He took me to Hiccup's hut. Hiccup was GONE."

She was interrupted by Snotlout, who snickered and said "are you sure that's the only reason you were in there, Astrid? Are you sure that Toothless made you go there?"

Astrid whipped around, grabbed his wrist, and flipped him to the ground.

"Let's get this straight, moron," she hissed, " I was in there because TOOTHLESS brought me there. End of story. Now we need to find Hiccup." She let him up and turned to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, this scroll was on Hiccup's bed." She ignored Snotlout muttering, "she was in his room? Gods." "Can you read it Fishlegs? Out loud? I can't bring myself to do it again." Fishlegs nervously took the scroll and unrolled it, then began to read it in a wavering voice. As he read through the scroll, Snotlout began to look sick, Ruffnut looked angry, and Tuffnut looked confused. The dragons, however, looked nothing but grim.

GREETINGS, DRAGON RIDERS. AND DRAGONS AS WELL. I'M SURE BY NOW YOU HAVE NOTICED THAT YOUR BELOVED LEADER IS GONE, AND (LEST THERE BE ANY DOUBT) IT IS I WHO HAVE TAKEN HIM. YOU HAVE SEVEN DAYS TO FIND HIM. ONLY SEVEN OF YOU MAY SEARCH. THAT INCLUDES DRAGONS. THERE ARE SEVEN RIDDLES, SEVEN LOCATIONS, AND SEVEN FALSE LEADS. IF YOU DO NOT FIND HIM BY SUNSET ON THE SEVENTH DAY, HE IS FOREVER LOST TO YOU. THE FIRST RIDDLE IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS SCROLL. YOU MAY NOT ASK ANYONE FOR HELP. ONLY THE SEVEN CHOSEN MAY TRY TO SOLVE THE RIDDLE. TOOTHLESS, THE POWER OF FLIGHT WILL BE YOURS FOR SEVEN DAYS, BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE CHOSEN. YOU MAY NOT ACCEPT OR ASK FOR ANY OUTSIDE MY INSTRUCTIONS ARE IN ANY WAY DEVIATED FROM, HICCUP WILL BE MINE NO MATTER WHAT DAY IT IS. DO NOT FAIL HIM. HE IS WAITING FOR YOU.

Toothless was chosen, of course, but there was a huge fight about who else was going. Eventually, Astrid, Stormfly, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Toothless, Snotlout, and Hookfang were chosen. Why them? Because a fight was obviously going to be involved in this quest. Enough said. Nobody was exactly comfortable leaving the twins behind, but the twins (oddly enough) volunteered.

Fishlegs unrolled the scroll once they were ready. "Look, guys," he said. "I think the riddle just showed up." They all clustered around him to read it.

 _I have a wish for flight and fish_

 _No one to help or hear me yelp_

 _A tall wall, from which I fall_

 _I was about to give up my Endeavor_

 _Until he came, and he said "never"..._

Toothless perked up his ears. He knew the answer. A terrible memory came back to him...starving, longing to escape, falling off the wall of the cove, again and again...The Cove. The Cove!

Toothless leaped to his feet and started pushing the humans out the door. They all responded. "Whoa, what, Toothless?" The dragons understood. The scooped up their riders and they were off, following Toothless. They humans slowly understood.

"I think Toothless wants us to follow him!" Snotlout yelled.

"You don't say?!" Astrid responded. Fishlegs merely whimpered again.

 **A/N Hey guys, sorry about not updating in so long, it's been ages since I've gotten my hands on a computer...will update again ASAP.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Hey, guys! Here it is!**

 **Review Replies:**

 **Dimensional Phaser: You'll see right now. :)**

Chapter two

Hiccup woke with a groan. There was something cold around his wrist that pinched. He tried opening his eyes and shut them again, fast. He opened them again, cautious this time, then stared in bewilderment. _Where am I?_ he thought. A cave was the answer. He was in a cave. He took a deep breath and tried to sit up. The air tasted funny, like...salt. Heavy salt flavor. Only when he was upright did he notice where he was exactly...and screamed.

The scream came out as bubbles, because he was underwater. He panicked.

 _Where am I?! What happened?! How in the name of Thor am I_ breathing?!

He started hyperventilating, then thought better of it. The water tasted awful. He yanked at the cold thing around his wrist and realized it was a chain. The chain was attached to a ring in the floor. There was no escape that way, so he looked around the cave, searching for anything that could help him. He found nothing. The cave was circular, like a tube, with a hole at the top that let light in. He looked up and could see the sun...awfully far away. Hiccup said a very rude word.

He saw something move in a particularly dark part of the cave and started, turning to the movement. He saw a familiar blond braid..."Astrid?"

He moved closer, and saw that it was indeed Astrid. She was chained to the floor as well. She opened her eyes then, and he saw something in them that he couldn't quite place before they were filled with confusion.

"Hiccup?" she asked. Definitely her voice. So why did he feel so... _afraid?_

He shook it off and approached her, on his hands and knees because, honestly, he wasn't sure if he'd float away if he tried to stand up. She sat up and stared around, panic filling her eyes. "Hiccup, where are we? What happened? What's going on?!"

"Whoa, whoa, Astrid, we're fine," _as far as I know "_ but we're underwater in some kind of cave."

She put her arms around him, to his shock, and he could feel her shaking. "Hiccup, I'm scared."

 _Huh? She's never scared of anything..._

"Astrid, are you alright?"

"Not really."

She curled up against him.

 _Okay, this is really weird..._

She did seem really afraid, so he hesitantly put his arms around her, and she relaxed slightly.

"It's okay. We'll be okay."

He was very aware of her, he'd loved her for a very long time, and she'd never seemed to notice anything...was this her noticing? He closed his eyes. The syren smiled slightly and thought _He'll never know_ to herself. Above, four dragons flew over head. Hiccup never saw them.

 **A/N If you don't know how syrens hunt, I believe you've just found out. :) Until next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Hello, everyone. I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long, but, you know, life got in the way. I can't find any reviews for this (new ones) right now, so I'm just going to continue the story. Okay? Okay.**

 **DISCLAIMER: All character and location rights to DreamWorks.**

 **Chapter Three**

Astrid was livid.

She glared through the clouds as the dragon riders cut through them, winging their way to Berk. She was riding Stormfly, and Toothless flew next to them. The others were in a line behind them.

How dare...whoever had taken Hiccup do such a thing? Astrid growled under her breath in frustration.

"Astrid?" Fishlegs asked tentatively.

"Yes?" Astrid said without looking at him.

"What are we going to tell Stoick?"

"We're not going to tell him anything."

"Uh, Astrid, have you forgotten he's the Chief?" Snotlout joined in the conversation. "We _have_ to tell him why we're coming back..without Hiccup."

Astrid replied, "We are not even going to go into town. We are going to sneak around and go right to the Cove. I personally don't want to deal with Stoick's famous temper today. Do you?"

"Not particularly," Fishlegs said.

"Me neither." Snotlout thought a moment. "But what if he catches us?"

"He won't." Astrid growled.

* * *

Astrid was right. Stoick was apparently busy with something else, if the angry shouts from the middle of town were any indication.

"I SWEAR TO THOR, GUSTAV, FANGHOOK SHOULD NEVER TRY TO HERD SHEEP...BECAUSE HE CHASES THEM...THE DRAGON OUTHOUSES CAUGHT ON FIRE...MESSES... ALL THROUGH THE VILLAGE, THAT'S WHY!"

"Poor Gustav," Snotlout snickered.

They all flew around to the Cove.

"Now what?" Snotlout looked around.

"Look for the next riddle," Astrid said tersely.

The dragon riders scattered through the Cove, checking all the places a riddle might be hidden. Astrid checked the cliffs. Snotlout climbed all the trees and rifled through them. Fishlegs and Meatlug looked under rocks.

A few minutes later Astrid jumped off a low rock and threw her axe at the nearest tree in frustration. Snotlout yelped and fell out of it.

"Where could it be?!" She shouted. She stalked towards Fishlegs.

"Check the first riddle again. Maybe we missed something."

"Okay, okay," he squeaked, and quickly unrolled the scroll again.

"Uh, guys?"

"What is it?" Astrid snatched the scroll. "Oh. Wow. Guys, we've got it!"

Snotlout ran over.

The riddle about the Cove was gone. In its place was a new riddle.

 _As far as you look, you will never find me_

 _If I choose to reveal myself, you are doomed_

 _I'll twist and hiss and blast you to pieces,_

 _With that green glow_

 _That will earn you a room_

 _In Valhalla._

Astrid finished reading it out loud. Everyone was quiet. The dragons came over and took a look at it, too. Suddenly Fishlegs snapped his fingers.

"Oh my Thor, I just realized what it was! But that's so dangerous...do we have to go there?"

"Astrid, it's a Changewing." Fishlegs told her.

"So that means the location is Changewing Island!" Snotlout was starting to get excited.

"Let's go!" Astrid said. She started towards Stormfly but was stopped by none other than Stoick the Vast.

* * *

"Uh...hello, sir." Astrid said nervously. "What brings you here?"

Stoick groaned and rubbed his head. "That boy is going to be the death of me...I went for a walk to try to calm down. What brings you all here?"

He looked about hopefully for a moment, then seemed to realize something was missing.

"Where's Hiccup? And the twins?"

They all stumbled over themselves to answer him.

"Um, well, he's just-"

"He's in that tree!"

"They're all back at the Edge with-um,..."

"He went to find-"

They trailed off and Stoick gave them all a stern look.

"Okay, enough games. Where are they?"

They all exchanged looks, then, with a sigh, Fishlegs handed over the scroll and muttered, "we left the twins behind."

They all watched Stoick apprehensively as he opened it and read it. Twice.

"So, why are you all here instead of going to find him?" He asked when he was done.

"The first riddle brought us here." Astrid told him. "The riddle changes every time we get to the new location. At least...I think so."

Stoick sighed heavily and sat down on a stone.

"On top of everything else, now this." He muttered.

"We'll find him." Snotlout said. The others looked at him. "What?" He defended himself. "He's my cousin. I'm not about to let family down. Besides, _I_ want to be the hero in this one. Yeah! Go me!" He flexed, and Astrid rolled her eyes before turning back to Stoick.

"I promise, sir, we'll find him. We have to."

Stoick sighed again and stood up."

"Aye. Go on. Find him. I have to get back to the village. Make sure Gustav Larsen and that dragon of his isn't setting the place on fire or something."

Screams and a distant explosion ripped through the air, followed by the sound of stampeding yaks.

"Argh! I spoke too soon, didn't I? Skullcrusher!"

The heavily plated Rumblehorn appeared over the edge of the cove.

"Let's go corral those yaks, eh, boy?" Stoick swung himself up onto his saddle, then looked back down at the teenagers.

"Find my son. Bring him home. I'm counting on you." Then he was gone.

As soon as he was out of earshot Snotlout yelled, "Oh, man! That was so close. Chief almost busted us."

"Be quiet, you muttonhead." Astrid said, pulling herself up onto Stormfly's saddle. "We've got to go, now."

The others quickly joined her, and they flew up out of the Cove and set a course for Changewing Island.

* * *

An hour or so later, Astrid's musings were interrupted by a shout.

"Astrid! You do know that these are Bog-Burglar waters, don't you?" Snotlout was hanging halfway off his saddle to yell at her. Hookfang shook him back while Astrid responded.

"I don't care, Snotlout. We made peace with them decades ago, and time is running out. Who knows what kind of riddle will be waiting for us at Changewing Island? Let's not quit while we're ahead."

"Astrid, those boats don't look particularly friendly!" Fishlegs cut into the conversation. Astrid looked down to see three Bog-Burglar boats sailing towards them. She had no time to answer Fishlegs because at that moment three nets shot into the air. Astrid managed to evade them, but Fishlegs and Snotlout were caught, and thumped to the decks.

"Help!" Fishlegs yelped, but quickly grew quiet, apart from a few frightened whimpers when he was surrounded by women with sharp blades and thuggish, heavy muscles. Snotlout too, on the other boat, had his eyes screwed shut and was muttering under his breath, trying not to look at the swords and knives and other things that threatened him. The dragons were thrashing and screeching, but they quieted when a loud, crude, feminine voice yelled,

"Quiet down or I'll have your guts for garters!" The dragons shushed, and looked in surprise at her. She was tall, and heavily muscled, and had significant female endowments.

"Tha's bettar." She grinned. "Now, who're you lot, and why do yeh think yeh can attack _my boats?!_ " The last part was a shout so loud that Snotlout and Hookfang, who were on the same boat as her, both flinched.

"We weren't attacking!" Snotlout yelled defiantly. "I swear! We were just flying through!"

"Aye," the woman said. "You say tha', but I don' believe yeh!"

Snotlout shut his eyes again, and Hookfang growled at the woman.

"Who do yeh think yeh are, dragon, ter growl at me?!" The woman yelled at him. "I am Big-Boobied Bertha, Chieftainess of the Bog-Burglar tribe, best burglar ter sail the sea, and ten year wrestlin' champion of the tribes!"

"You are not!" Someone hollered. A short girl, dressed in all black, with excessive amounts of blonde hair that looked as if Terrible Terrors nested in it, sauntered up to Bertha.

" _I_ am the best burglar to sail the sea, and an escape artist to boot." She told Bertha.

"No, I am the best burglar!"

"No, I am!"

"No, I AM!"

" _HEY_!" Astrid interrupted from above.

The two quarreling women looked up. Astrid waved.

"Could we have our friends back, please?" She asked.

Bertha and the girl in black looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

"What-what's so funny?" Snotlout asked from the net.

The girl in black chortled as she yelled up at Astrid.

"We're sorry, we didn't know who you were!"

"How would you know who I was?"Astrid looked extremely confused.

"Come down here and we'll explain!"

Astrid was even more confused, but she swooped down and joined Snotlout on the deck. The girl in black had cut him and Hookfang loose, and over on the other boat, Fishlegs and Meatlug had been freed and had come over.

"Move yer behinds, yeh lazy lumps!" Bertha yelled at her tribemates, who jumped to attention and began rowing the boat.

"So sorry about that, didn't know you were Hooligans." The girl in black apologized profusely while Bertha nodded.

"And...who are you?" Fishlegs inquired.

"Ah, of course, didn't introduce myself!" The girl threw her arms apart and proclaimed, "I am Camicazi, the greatest swordfighter I've ever met, _the best_ burglar in the Viking world, the only escape artist to escape fifteen tribes' prisons, and heiress to the Bog-Burglar tribe."

"Okay, nice to meet you. But we're kind of in a hurry.." Astrid hinted.

"Nonsense!" Bertha exclaimed. "We heard yeh rode dragons, and Camicazi here went spyin' on Berk to see if it was true, but we'd like to really get to know yeh. Besides, Camicazi found a dragon she loves, and really wants ter train it."

"And you haven't introduced yourselves!" Camicazi said. "Except for you, Astrid. We already know who you are."

"How do you know who I am?" Astrid was getting a bit annoyed now, but no less confused.

Camicazi giggled. "Hiccup would _never_ stop talking about you when I saw him. He'd just go on and on and on about the great Astrid Hofferson, the prettiest girl on Berk and one of the toughest girls he knew." She fluttered her eyelashes. "He had _such_ a bad crush on you...in fact, I have a suspicion he still has it!"

Astrid was floored.

"Um...uh..okay? But, hey, listen, we really need to get going.."

"Why's tha'?" Bertha asked.

Astrid sighed. "It's a long story, but Hiccup has been kidnapped and we need to find him."

"What?" Camicazi stared at Astrid. "This is a joke, right? Hiccup's quite smart...he wouldn't allow himself to be kidnapped!"

"We don't know what happened. And how do you know him, anyway?"

Camicazi gave Astrid an insulted look. "You mean he never mentioned me?"

"Uh, no."

Camicazi growled under her breath. "I was just the only person who ever talked to him, who ever liked him, from what I heard. When his father would take him along on treaty signing trips every year, I'd play with him when we were younger and when we got older I was the only person who listened to his mad ideas, his lovely poetry, I was his only friend. We were great friends. And now you tell me my friend has been kidnapped!? What in Thor's name is going on?! He never said anything in his letters the past four years about..." She cut herself off and sighed. "So you don't know what happened?"

"No."

Camicazi sat down heavily on the deck. "Maybe you'd better tell us everything from the beginning."

* * *

 ** _(An hour later)_**

"So what you're telling me," Camicazi said thoughtfully, "is that Hiccup disappeared from his bed, and you guys found a note from some person who supposedly took him. The note also told you about riddles you'd have to solve and places you have to go, and you only have seven days to find him before you'll never be able to get him back?"

"Yeah, that's about it." Astrid sighed heavily.

"All this is too technical fer me," Bertha said. "You kids figure out what ter do, and I'll go make sure the rowers keep on rowin'."

She got up and lumbered off, leaving Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Camicazi in silence. Toothless was curled up on the deck, pretending to be sleepy, but he was actually watching them intently, wide awake. The other dragons were flying overhead as the boats were rowed towards the Bog Isles.

After a few minutes, Camicazi hopped up onto her feet.

"Alrighty!" She clapped her hands once. "Let's get going! We have things do do, places to go, Hiccup to save!"

"Wait, wait, what?" Snotlout said as they all scrambled to their feet after Camicazi.

"You can't come," Fishlegs told her.

"Yeah, you don't even have a dragon," Astrid pointed out.

Camicazi pointed at them and winked. "Oh, but I do. I have a dragon that I haven't met yet, but I have observed him. I want you all to help me train him, and then I can come with you!"

"We don't have time, Camicazi," Astrid said. "Only seven days, remember?"

"Well, how long does it take to train a dragon?"

"Uh..."

"She means how long does it take to earn the dragon's trust, Snotlout." Astrid shook her head. "About ten minutes to a month. Depends on the person. Depends on the dragon."

"Oh, I know he'll like me." Camicazi flapped her hands in the air, as if to say, _eh, who cares._ "Because I am ze great Camicazi! Who wouldn't like me?" She beamed at them.

Astrid sighed. "Okay. Let's go train that dragon of yours. What kind is it?"

Camicazi dropped her hands. "I have no idea." She said conversationally. "It's no dragon I've ever seen before. He's been hanging around the village for a month or two, stealing."

"A new dragon?" Fishlegs asked excitedly.

"Calm down, Fishface," Snotlout said. "It's just another large lizard that we don't know and that also that might kill us. Remember the Death Song?"

"Well, excuse me for being interested in new things, _Snotlout._ "

Astrid shook her head at the bickering boys.

"Really, you two?"

"Oh, it's no bother." Camicazi laughed. "Hiccup and I used to get into much worse fights. I remember one time when we were arguing about whether his new machine...what was it? Some sort of water system? We were arguing about whether it would work. He fell down a hill!"

Astrid snickered. "I can just see the look on his face. How did he fall?"

"Yes! It was hilarious! Well, we were walking along the top of one, and he lost his footing and fell all the way down and landed in a thorn-bush. I chased him down and pulled him out of it, and he was covered in thorns and scratches and scrapes, and he looks up at me with this terrified face, and says, 'what did you do'?"

Astrid burst into laughter. Camicazi joined in, and they walked to the prow and watched the sea. Toothless came over, and Astrid scratched his ears. Camicazi rubbed Toothless's nose for a moment, and he purred and nudged her.

"Don't worry, Night Fury." Camicazi told him. "We'll find our Hiccup."

* * *

 **A/N Hi...don't really know what to put on this Author's Note.**

 **I know! Random words!**

 **Bunny! Christmas! Icicle! Jack-O-Lantern! Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate!**

 **I'm just mad because dairy gives me headaches..so no more chocolate. :-(**

 **Thank you for putting up with my silly stories and non-reliable updates! XOXO**

 **One parting word: ZIPPER!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N So sorry I didn't update last week! So sorry!**

 **My life is crappy and I just haven't been motivated. Depression, ya know...**

 **Usually I listen to music to help, but my iPod was confiscated. So I talk to myself about HTTYD...crazy, I know.**

 **I'm sorry about there being no Review Replies, my stupid email has been erasing everything lately...**

 **But you don't want to know about my life! You're here for a new chapter!**

 **Here you go!**

Chapter Four

"There he is."

Camicazi gestured to the dragon who was sleeping in a cave.

"How did you find him?" Astrid whispered.

Camicazi shrugged. "I've been tracking him for weeks. I only found out that this is where he sleeps yesterday."

"And you didn't kill him?"

Camicazi gave Astrid a look. "I want to learn how to trust dragons. Like you guys. Like Hiccup told me was possible. I want him to trust me. I can't very well do that if I go kill him, now can I?"

Astrid shook her head. "I just thought that we were the only island who even wanted to trust the dragons."

"Hey." Snotlout interrupted. "Are we going to talk or is Camicazi going to train this dragon?"

Astrid shot him a glare. "Yeah, let's go." She handed Camicazi a fish.

"Okay, you're going to want to approach him alone. He's going to wake up when you get close. You need to show him you have no weapons. Drop them all in his sight. Keep his gaze. Offer him the fish."

"Then what?"

Astrid thought a moment. "We'll answer that when we get there."

"Okay." Camicazi took the fish and slid out of the bush. Astrid, Snotlout and Fishlegs watched her as she edged closer and closer to the cave's mouth. When her boot moved over the threshold, the dragon's eyes flew open. He reared up like a cobra and growled threateningly.

He was amazing.

His scales were a deep sea green all over his body, and they looked thin and maneuverable. His face echoed that of a Changewing, but thicker and less delicate. His four legs were thick and clearly muscled, like Hookfang's. His tail reminded them of a Speed Stinger, same shape, just no stinger. Poison ducts traversed his cheeks like veins. His violet eyes were narrowed into slits, and his sharp fangs were bared at Camicazi. His size was somewhere between Stormfly and Hookfang, a bit bigger than Toothless. His body shape reminded them of Toothless, but was a bit more spindly.

"Hey, boy." Camicazi said confidently. "I'm going to take off my weapons, alright? I wanna be friends. We can do that? Wow, you're a pretty boy. How easy it is to keep those scales clean? They look like they rub up against each other a lot."

As she spoke, she dropped her sword, her bow, her quiver of arrows, her darts, and her blowgun. The dragon snorted, as if to say, _I know there's more. You can't fool me._

Camicazi raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you're a smart dragon, aren't you?" She pulled daggers and knives out of straps on her calves, her thighs, both boots, her back, her waist, then she reached down her shirt and took a tiny knife out of her cleavage.

Astrid shuddered. That had to be super uncomfortable.

Camicazi dropped the many knives on the pile of weapons. The dragon relaxed a bit, but growled again.

"Okay, fine." Camicazi nearly dropped the fish in an effort to reach the knife that was strapped to the back of the inside of her thigh.

"Why in Thor's name would she have a knife there?" Snotlout asked, shuddering.

"I don't really want to know," Astrid replied, watching in a strange fascination at that large pile of weapons and being glad she wasn't _that_ armed.

The knife was added to the pile and the dragon seemed to relax for real this time. He sat back and looked at Camicazi with dilated pupils.

"Yeah, hey, boy." Camicazi held out the fish. The dragon eagerly took it, but watched her the whole time. As he swallowed, she ran her hand over his jaw. He pulled back and growled again, baring his teeth.

"Camicazi!" Astrid hissed. The dragon whipped his head around to stare at where the voice was coming from. Astrid ignored him.

"Reach out your hand. But look away. Allow him to come to you."

Camicazi nodded, never taking her eyes off the dragon. She reached out her hand and looked down at her boots, causing her crazy mane of blonde hair to hide her face and brush her hips.

The dragon stared at her hand, his pupils dilating almost comically. He gazed at it, then slowly pushed his nose into it. Camicazi raised her eyes to stare into his, and every one could see that a bond for life had just been made. Snotlout sighed and thought of Hookfang. Fishlegs smiled and remembered with rue the time he had pushed his nose into Hiccup's hand when Hiccup was demonstrating for Ruffnut. Astrid blinked back a tear and thought of Hiccup.

"Will you lot come out now?" Camicazi asked lowly, glancing at their hiding place.

They did so. "I'm pretty sure he's fine," Astrid said. The dragon was watching them curiously.

"Hey, boy." Fishlegs greeted him. "What kind of a dragon are you?" The dragon gave the dragon equivalent of an eye roll, then crouched down on the ground and...

"Whoa!" Snotlout exclaimed.

The others just stared. The dragon was flat. Like a piece of parchment, but much thicker. The dragon moved, and his flat body rippled.

"Oh my Thor, you guys, that's a Rocket Ripper!" Fishlegs exclaimed.

"A what?"

"It's a Stealth Class dragon, it can flatten itself in order to fly faster, has a very aerodynamic shape, class seven, except for speed, which is nine, they can hear really well, and-"

"Okay, we don't need the novel, Fishlegs."

Astrid checked the sun. It was setting.

"Thor damn it!" Her sudden outburst startled them all.

"What?" Camicazi asked. The Rocket Ripper stopped being flat and expanded again.

"The first day is gone." Astrid stated dully.

The mood grew darker as the reality sunk in. Fishlegs voiced it.

"So now we only have six days to find Hiccup."

* * *

"Ruff?"

"Yeah?"

"Who do you think took Hiccup?"

"I dunno, Tuff. Maybe it was Dagur?"

The twins were sitting in the Clubhouse alone, watching the sun set after a day of running wild. They'd used the boar pit, they'd experimented with blowing up things in the woods, they'd tried to train Smidvarg to fetch...but now they were getting a bit lonely. They weren't used to being left alone for so long, and they were worried about Hiccup.

Tuffnut picked at his teeth as he considered his sister's speculation.

"Well, maybe, but this doesn't seem like his style. He's more into force, not subtlety."

Ruffnut nodded and took a gulp of water. "I don't know...maybe we could consider the possibility that we are dealing with supernatural forces here."

Tuffnut was silent for a moment.

"Well, that's certainly something to think about. But we have no proof. While it'd be awesome to entertain the notion that Hiccup was indeed abducted by some supernatural force, we musn't go jumping to conclusions."

Ruffnut shivered. "Tuff, you're scary when you use complicated words."

Tuffnut chortled. "And I like scaring you. So I will use more complicated words."

Ruffnut shoved him. "Shut up, muttonhead."

They sat in silence for a while longer, drinking and eating their supper.

"I hope they're all okay."

"Me too, Tuff."

* * *

The underwater cave was silent, except for the gentle sound of kisses.

Hiccup was slightly dizzy. He was a bit confused, but he couldn't think straight with Astrid's lips pressing against his again and again, for longer each time. How had this happened again?

Oh, right. They'd tried everything Hiccup could think of to escape, but nothing had worked. So they'd sat in each other's arms, talking for hours. Hiccup wasn't even sure which topic had led to this as Astrid's teeth scraped against his bottom lip and his mind went slightly numb.

Oh. They'd been talking about that first kiss, years ago, after he'd woken up from his coma. After the Red Death.

Astrid moaned and the sound made Hiccup's brain go completely blank. Nothing...just the feel of her lips on his, on his jaw, her teeth on his neck.

The syren was much in the same state, and she moaned his name into his neck. She didn't care how wrong this was. She didn't care that if her sisters found her then she would be punished and Hiccup would be eaten. She was too busy marveling. She had watched from the sidelines for too long. Hiccup would be hers. No one could solve the last riddle, even if they got that far. It was simply impossible.

Her mind blanked as he forced a gasp from her mouth.

"Hiccup..."

* * *

 **A/N So...bit of a short chapter. I apologize, things are crazy.**

 **I'm not quite sure what to put on this Author's Note either...**

 **I have cookies?**

 **I know!**

 **So, I was doing Spanish flashcards, and on one side we had Spanish adjectives, and on the other we had pictures, and every picture was a Disney or Dreamworks character, and mostly HTTYD. I offered to buy a full meal for anyone who could understand every reference and name every character ( for example, Snotlout was on the "Arrogant" card, Viggo Grimborn was on the "Intelligent" card, the Snow Wraith was on the "White" card, and Jabba the Hutt was on the "Ugly" card. Also, RTTE Hiccup was on the "Handsome" card).**

 **Not a single person could do it, and I asked a lot of people. One girl recognized all the HTTYD references, but not all the others. She's a really avid "Big Four" fan, though, and she told me I should ship Jack Frost and Hiccup...I told her no way. The only boyXboy ships I support are the canon ones.**

 **Thank you for reading this, and for putting up with my lengthy update times!**


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